Located north of the Imperial City, Bruma is a primarily Nordic city, which is reflected in the architecture. It is always relatively cold and snow-covered. The city's population includes followers of the Divines as well as those who follow the traditional Nordic Pantheon.

The Silver Road connects Bruma to the Imperial City, while the Orange Road connects it to Chorrol. Cloud Ruler Temple is located nearby. The city houses the Great Chapel of the youngest of the Nine Divines, Talos, which dominates the center of town. The Countess of Bruma is Narina Carvain, a Heartland Nibenean woman of noble descent.

Dark Brotherhood Clothing - J'Ghasta's house has a Black Hand Hood and a Black Hand Robe worn exclusively by members of the Dark Brotherhood, which raises your Sneak,Marksman,Illusion,Blade, and Speechcraft by 4 and 11 points, respectively. The equipment is protected by a Very Hard lock on a keg in the lower level. There is also a "Secret Training Room" hidden door in the corner of the lower level under some fabric swaths. There are some practice dummies here, soft candle light, and light reading is available (increase hand-to-hand).

Statue of Your Character - After completing the Great Gate quest, a statue of your character will be erected near the north gate to the Jerall Mountains. Your statue will not feature the equipment your character has equipped, but rather what the game considers the best of the equipment you had in your inventory at a specific point during the Great Gate quest.

The Bruma Mages Guild is a good starting point for mage-type characters since the guild members sell spells in every school, with a wide variety of effects. Of particular note is the SummonDremora Lord which cannot be purchased anywhere else. See Volanaro for more details.

In Oblivion's official trailer, an arena could be seen in Bruma, further evidence of the original plan to have arenas in every city.